


start to slip

by 4wholecats



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, as in literal hurt people get stabbed in this, fun with berserk staves, relationship tag is really only there if u squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4wholecats/pseuds/4wholecats
Summary: Eirika stepped back a mere second before Seth’s sword cleaved through the air in front of her, a rush of air whistling in her ears, followed by shouts and the sound of metal bouncing off stone tiles. He was close enough that she could see the unnatural red of his eyes, the telltale effect left behind by a berserk staff set off somewhere in the castle. She had no doubt that the culprit was being tracked down at that very minute, but as she barely dodged another strike, she focused her mind on the task at hand.
Relationships: Eirika/Seth (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	start to slip

**Author's Note:**

> seth personally checks the vibes of everyone stationed at castle renais  
> happy late valentines day here's some violence

Eirika stepped back a mere second before Seth’s sword cleaved through the air in front of her, a rush of air whistling in her ears, followed by shouts and the sound of metal bouncing off stone tiles. He was close enough that she could see the unnatural red of his eyes, the telltale effect left behind by a berserk staff set off somewhere in the castle. She had no doubt that the culprit was being tracked down at that very minute, but as she barely dodged another strike, she focused her mind on the task at hand. 

They had been in the throne room, everyone disbanding from a long and tiring meeting focused on plans for reconstruction. Ephraim had dismissed Seth and the other soldiers for the night when a low and ominous sound echoed through the halls. For a moment, everything was still, everyone present looking around the large room for the source of the noise, guards drawing their weapons instinctively. Then suddenly, the quiet was interrupted by the sound of metal on metal as Seth lunged for Franz, sword drawn.

The younger knight blocked the attack with a startled yell as everyone’s attention was drawn to the scene, and anyone who could fight surrounded the two paladins. Whatever magic guided the berserk curse sought out the weakest link in the blockade of able warriors, searching for an opening. Seth turned away from a startled Franz and ran full-tilt towards Eirika, who didn’t even have her weapon ready. 

After dodging a third clumsy strike in her direction, Eirika heard Seth’s breath hitch as his head jerked back. Sir Garcia had broken the perimeter of the circle, grabbing the younger man by the hair and yanking him back, like a dog on a short leash. Seth growled, reaching back with his free hand to claw at Garcia’s face before being thrown back to the center of the circle.

“Are you alright, princess?” 

Someone next to her was shouting her name and grabbing her arm, shaking her. Dazed, she looked up into Kyle’s face, not missing the way his brow creased or the nervous sweat on his forehead. 

“I’ll be fine. He didn’t even touch me,” Eirika said, wavering voice betraying how startled she actually was. Kyle looked as if he might speak again before their attention was drawn back to the situation at hand. With a groan, Seth clambered to his feet, shoving Garcia off him roughly. For a few tense seconds, everyone simply stood there motionless, waiting for someone to make their move. Seth’s sword had been knocked out of his hands and quickly ferreted away by a nervous Ross, who stood out of harm’s way near Amelia, who in turn cowered behind a nearby pillar. Both of the young soldiers had seen berserk staves in action before on the battlefield, but it was much easier to avoid there than in this comparatively tightly packed space. Eirika turned towards them.

“Go find a healer!”

They didn’t have to be told twice. Both teenagers positively scrambled for the exit and were gone in an instant, leaving the more capable members of the army to deal with the problem. Eirika peeled her eyes away from the door through which they had disappeared just in time to watch her brother do something very, very foolish.

King Ephraim of Renais was not a weak man. Even now, in this time of peace, he had kept up with his training diligently, and the ceremonial armor he now wore as king was a lot sturdier than it’s decorative appearance would suggest. Brandishing his lance, he entered the makeshift fighting ring.

“You know, when I said you shouldn’t go so easy on us during training, this is hardly what I had in mind,” he said, receiving only a vacant snarl in return. 

“Ephraim! Don’t-” Eirika shouted, before the sound of fighting caused her to pause. Seth was an experienced soldier, and always made sure to carry a second weapon in case of an emergency, she remembered as her eyes fell to the dagger in his hand. 

“Please be careful,” she whispered to herself. She would be utterly undone if harm came to either fighter, so she prayed that a healer would arrive soon, and that Ephraim had the sense to not cause more harm than was needed. 

The flat side of Ephraim’s blade made contact with Seth’s unarmored side, but this didn’t deter the knight for a single second. He lunged again, going straight to Ephraim’s throat with the dagger, before being blocked again with a sharp kick to the legs. Neither fighter looked tired yet, and fire burned behind the king’s gaze. He was fighting in order to protect his friends of course, but he couldn’t help but think about the glory of this fight. What better way to prove himself to his teacher than by beating him in a match like this. He danced away from another swipe. If only berserk effects didn’t make one’s attacks so sloppy. What was lost in technique was made up for in unpredictability, however. Seth was a paragon of knighthood, and fought honorably because of it, but the animal impulsed invading his brain disregarded this strict moral code.

 _So much for battlefield chivalry,_ thought Ephraim as he narrowly missed a swipe that surely would have connected with his groin had he not moved in time. How much time was left on this curse? Ephraim was starting to sweat, what with all this dodging. Normally in battle, fighting was a matter of killing the opponent as quickly as possible and moving on. In his pride, he had failed to consider the fact that defeating his opponent wasn’t the main goal here. Ephraim just needed to keep Seth distracted until the curse ran itself out or a healer arrived, and the king wasn’t the best at avoiding attacks. Perhaps Eirika would have been the best woman for this job…

Ephraim’s thoughts were ripped out from under him as Seth dropped the dagger. For a moment, the king breathed a sigh of relief, for the man had probably come back to his senses, but then Seth violently grabbed Ephraims lance while he was distracted, wrenching it from his grasp and throwing it aside, causing onlookers to yell and cover their faces protectively. 

Seth lunged with a furious roar, knocking Ephraim clean off his feet. The younger man hissed with pain as he hit the tiles, struggling vainly to get the knight off of him. On a normal day, Ephraim would have probably been able to knock the man away, being about the same size as him, but the berserk staff’s deathgrip held strong as Seth straddled the man’s chest and wrapped his hands around his young lord’s throat. 

“EPHRAIM!” Eirika shouted, watching her brother sputter and cough. She struggled out of Kyle’s grip only to be recaptured a moment later, while the other warriors in the room converged on the pair. Forde pulled on Seth’s wrists, trying to force the other man to let go, while Franz tugged hard on the back of the paladin’s shirt collar. The panic was becoming more and more oppressive as those present became aware of just how red the King’s face had become, and that Seth still held his throat in his hands with all the force of a sprung bear trap. 

“MOVE, BOY!” 

There was a loud shout as Garcia shoved Franz aside like a ragdoll, picking up Seth’s dropped dagger.

“Garcia! No you mustn't-” Eirika screamed out, but it was too late. Instinctively, she shut her eyes and cringed away from the carnage that was to come. 

Another loud roar made her look back, and the blood made her insides somersault. She looked back just in time to watch Sir Garcia wrench the knife from Seth’s shoulder, where it had slipped past his armor and pierced through the fabric of his coat deep enough to hit bone. The older mad delivered a hard kick to the knight’s side, hard enough that it would make most men vomit, finally freeing Ephraim from his tragic fate. The young lord gasped for air wildly before being deftly dragged away by Gilliam, who had been previously blocking the door. 

There was a feral hiss, and Garcia grunted as Seth rolled over and clawed at the axeman’s eyes. Garcia growled back and clambered over to sit on Seth’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. Struggle though he might, the other man was just too heavy to be moved, but that didn’t stop Seth from struggling. Blood smeared the tiles as he writhed, hands swiping up to grab at the other man’s face, not paying close attention to where his hands were, and that Garcia still held the knife in front of him. More blood splattered across the floor as Seth’s hand made contact with the blade, skewering itself through the center of his left palm and reappearing out the other side, slick with red. 

At this, Eirika screamed, launching her way into the circle and ignoring the shouts of protest coming from the other knights. She grasped Garcia’s shoulders and shouted at him, crying that he had to get off, this had gone too far, when through the door finally burst Amelia and Ross, victorious in their search.

Artur pushed his way through the crowd, restore staff in hand. He took only a moment to survey the scene, before rushing to heal the wounded. 

“Hold his arms,” he said to Garcia, who let go of the dagger to pin the other man’s flailing limbs to the ground. Artur knelt down next to the two men, put a hand on Seth’s blood spattered forehead, and muttered an incantation under his breath. 

Beneath Garcia, Seth paused in his squirming, looking up at Artur like a child distracted from their temper tantrum. Then, with a hitched breath, all the tension drained from his body and eyes rolling shut.

“I think you can get off him now Sir, we need to take him to the infirmary,” the sage said, opening one of the fallen knight’s eyes with a careful hand. From where she was standing, Eirika couldn’t see if they still held that horrible red glow, but Artur seemed satisfied. The man stood, peeling the bloody robes off of his legs where they had stuck there, and surveyed the crowd.

“If you’re injured, you best come with me,” he said, waving gently towards himself, “That means you too, my lord.” Ephraim grunted from his place on the floor, massaging his bruising neck with a trembling hand. 

“My lady, are you at all injured?” Kyle spoke again from behind Eirika, startling her. 

“No, I’m fine, just…. Shaken,” she said in what was barely more than a whisper. She watched as Gilliam helped her brother to his feet. Franz had all but collapsed against a pillar, and Forde wasn’t looking much better, leaning heavily on his lance. Seth still hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor, and the puddle of blood he was laying in wasn’t getting any smaller. 

The man himself looked like a corpse, pale from blood loss and exhausted from exertion. His overcoat was rumpled and his hair was wild and dripping, the opposite of the man she had come to place her trust in for most of her life. When a stretcher was brought, he did not move at all as he was dragged onto it, and for a moment, the princess wondered if he genuinely was dead. 

“He’s gonna be fine,” said a hoarse voice next to her. Ephraim continued to nurse both his neck and his bruised pride, wheezing slightly as he spoke. 

“How could this have happened, Ephraim? I’ve never seen him be affected by any sort of curses before, not even during the war.”

“I dunno,” Ephraim paused to cough into his elbow, “but you oughta come to the infirmary too.” 

“Let’s go brother, I’m worried about that croak in your voice.” 

\----

Eirika returned to the infirmary the next day, and was glad to see that most of the beds and chairs that were occupied yesterday were now empty. Only two at the back had patients now, and she strolled towards them. Ephraim was sitting up in bed, hunched over a small stack of papers that was carefully balanced on his legs. Next to him was Seth, looking as dead to the world as he had the day before, up to his ears in blankets and not moving a muscle. Ephraim looked up from his work and beamed at his sister.

“Good morning!” he said, voice wavering slightly, but sounding much better overall.

“How are you? Feeling better?” Eirika sat at the end of his bed, peeking over his bent knees to look at the forms in his lap. “You know you shouldn’t be doing work right now. Without a desk to write on your penmanship is that of a child.”

“My penmanship is perfectly fine, thank you very much,” he retorted, smiling as he moved another page from his lap another ever growing pile on the floor. “And I’m feeling much better. Artur was worried my windpipe was hurt badly, but it turns out it’s just bruised. The only thing to be done is rest and try not to talk too loud for a few days.”

“That will be a struggle, especially for you.”

“Hey!” Ephraim’s voice pitched up and then subsequently cracked. When he spoke again, it was a whisper. “I can manage for a few days. If I need someone yelled at, I’ll get Kyle to do it; the new trainees are already afraid of him, by the looks of things.” Eirika snickered.

“Speaking of scaring trainees, how’s he doing?” she said, looking over at the other bed.

“They healed him up fine yesterday. They’re only really worried about where Sir Garcia stabbed his shoulder, but they patched that up a while ago too. Said it will probably scar.”

“He’s got one for each shoulder now.”

“Yea I guess he does.”

“Has he woken up at all?” Eirika asked, turning to her brother.

“Nah, not yet. Apparently, berserk curses use up just about all of the body’s energy, so if you don’t break the person out of it almost immediately, they become basically catatonic afterwords. The clerics said we should only get worried if he’s not awake by tomorrow.”

“Well, he’s earned the rest. I can only imagine how wound up he’ll be when he wakes, so we best not bother him now.”

“I couldn’t agree more, sister. Now, would it be possible for you to take these papers up to my office? If I get out of bed I worry Artur will go for my throat himself,” the king said sheepishly. Eirika gathered up the documents carefully, before saying goodbye to her brother and leaving the two men in peace.

\----

“My lady, Sir Seth has awakened,” Franz poked his head into Eirika’s study.

“How is he feeling?” She asked as she put away her book and stood to smooth out her skirts.

“He’s a little out of it still, but he’s holding conversation at least.”

“And my brother?”

“Due for release right about now. I think the clerics are just about at their wit’s end with him, so they’re letting him go early as long as he promises to take it easy for the next week or so.”

“I see. Well, I should go see how Seth is doing, thank you for letting me know, Franz.”

The walk to the infirmary was a quick one, since Eirika had been hovering around that wing of the castle since the accident just in case anything else happened. When she arrived, Ephraim was already gone, presumably to cause trouble elsewhere in the castle. Seth was sitting up in bed, playing with a cup of water in his hands. The front of his shirt was unbuttoned, and Eirika could see bandages beneath snaking their way up to his injured shoulder. A dull bruise peeked out from under them as well, evidence from where Garcia had kicked him. Despite sleeping for two days, the dark rings under his eyes were apparent. His sullen expression only deepened as he made eye contact with the princess from across the room.

“How are you?” She asked, drawing closer. The man let out a soft sign, and straightened out a little, a grimace on his face.

“I have been far better, my lady.”

“Ah, I can imagine. Is there anything I can do for you, Seth? Anything you want? I’m sure you must be bored; I can get you things from your room if you so desire,” she said, perching on the end of his bed. He said nothing for a moment, eyes cast down to his hands, bandaged and turning the cup in his hands. 

“Princess Eirika, I would like to apologize for my actions the other day. I would never willingly put you or your brother in harm’s way like that, and I will happily comply with whatever punishment you see fit for this situation.” Eirika could only blink at him.

“You-, wait, none of this was your fault, Seth! We aren’t going to punish you for something you had no control over!” She said, pointing an accusatory finger at her knight.

“Princess, I attacked both members of the royal family. Consciously or not, that’s a crime worthy of execution in most cases, no matter the circumstances. I put everyone in grave danger, including you, your highness.” Eirika sputtered as he made eye contact with her again, frowning.

“Seth! This is madness, both myself and Ephraim will be right as rain in just a few days! Everyone else has already been seen to, and they are doing well and wishing you their best. You are the only one who was even seriously injured, how can you sit here and ask for further punishment?”

“If it had been someone you didn’t know, would you show them the same mercy, my lady? If it was one of the new recruits, or a foreign dignitary that attacked you, would you brush it off like this? Of course not. Violence is violence, no matter who commits it.” Seth said, looking at her with a level headed glare. Eirika considered him for a moment before sighing.

“We found out who did it, you know. Turns out, one of our mages was testing out a new staff, one that would affect multiple targets, without anyone else’s knowledge. It happened all over the castle, Seth. Lots of people were affected, but everyone looked out for their friends, so no one was badly hurt. We did the same, right? We’re looking out for you, even if you did attack us by accident. The mage is at fault, and they are being dealt with for being so careless, so please. No more talk of punishments. I’d rather die myself than send you to be executed over something like this.” For a moment, it looked like Seth might argue further, the corners of his mouth twisting downward in an unhappy frown. Eirika continued, not giving him another chance to argue.

“I would not consider this a punishment, but you very well might, so here. I’m requesting you take a month’s leave of your duties to rest and recover. If I see you on palace grounds, I will have you escorted away. Does that seem fair to you? Temporary exile?”

“My lady, that is hardly what I would consider to be a punishment-”

Eirika scoffed.

“Please. I’ve seen how you are after just a week of being off duty. Not only will you be _forced_ to relax, I know you’re going to hate every second of it. So this works perfectly for both of us. Right? The reason you fell victim to such a curse is because you’re working yourself into the ground! Everyone can see you are exhausted, and stress can make anyone vulnerable to attack. So, starting the day you’re given permission to leave the infirmary, I am kicking you out of the castle myself.” Seth stared blankly at her for a moment, before leaning back, eyebrow raised.

“If I am to be… _banished_ … from the castle, where do you suspect I will go, my lady? I do live here, after all.”

“I am not a fool, Seth. I know you have family in the capital city. In fact, I’ve already sent a missive to them to expect you within the next few days.” Eirika’s smile was somewhere between devilish and sweet.

“Your idea of worthy punishment for an assassination attempt on the king of Renais, is to report my actions… _to my mother?_ ”

“It was Ephraim’s idea, if that makes any difference.” Seth’s frown deepened as Eirika’s smile widened.

“See? You already hate it, which means it’s a great punishment! Seth, overworking yourself here has put not only yourself, but your friends in danger. You _need_ a break, just as much as anyone else does. Go spend some time with your family! They probably miss you, and you owe it to them as much as you owe it to yourself.” Eirika’s expression softened as she touched Seth’s forearm lightly.

“... If it is what my lady requests, then I have no choice but to comply.” Seth responded, eyes closing and face relaxing with defeat.

“Good! I’m glad to hear that, Seth. But for now, your job is to stay here and get better.” Eirika stood, straightening her skirt before heading for the door, off to make sure Ephraim hadn’t gotten himself in trouble. “And give my regards to your mother, I haven’t seen Dame Lilian since her retirement!”

She turned around to give Seth one more sun-beam smile before leaving the infirmary, closing the door quietly behind her and leaving a comfortable silence in her wake. 

**Author's Note:**

> just so we're all clear, "im gonna tell your mom" Absolutely still works on adults lmao


End file.
